Our blog has moved

The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2010 is in the shops and to mark the occasion, we’ve moved to a new and improved www.writersandartists.co.uk

From today (or tomorrow, depending on your computer settings) you’ll find all the content from this blog at our new home:

www.writersandartists.co.uk/blog/

We’ll be adding new posts, featuring name writers and industry experts, and including all sorts of useful hints and insider advice, but it wouldn’t be anything without you, so do come and add your comments at our new site.

While you’re there, you might also like to register (it’s quick and it’s free) and create a user profile. You can have your own ‘writer’ or ‘artist’ page at our new site, which means you can share your ideas, dreams, interests and ambitions with our online community of users.

I’m a little sad to wave goodbye to this blog, but it’s exciting to have a new website and I hope you’ll enjoy using it. See you soon at www.writersandartists.co.uk

Best wishes,

Claire

(Publisher, Yearbooks, A&C Black)

New home for our blog

This blog has moved to: www.writersandartists.co.uk/blog/

Five ways to find a literary agent

Our regular guest blogger editorial consultant Cressida Downing shares her tips for getting a literary agent

You’ve written your manuscript. It’s as good as it’s going to be. It’s time to get it out into the real world – and you need an agent.

Many mainstream publishers no longer read work that isn’t represented, which is where the literary agent comes in. Find yourself a good agent and they’ll use their experience to match your work with the best publishing house, and push to get the best deal for you.

If you’re new to the writing game, these are my five pointers

How to deal with rejection letters

Author Emma Bowd

Behind every published author is someone who’s had to deal with rejection. But how do you get over it? Guest blogger novelist Emma Bowd shares her experiences of dealing with the dreaded ‘no thank you’ letters.

As a published author, I can have the luxury of saying that rejection letters are an absolute rite-of-passage. But I’m also not so far away from the coal face to have quite forgotten the sting of

Book, blog and beyond …

Want to ‘talk’?  Need a new ‘friend’? I’m pleased to say that you can find the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook not just here, but also on MySpace and Facebook, where we’ll also be running special offers and giveaways. Add us to your favourites!

Warm wishes, Jo

Feel the fear and blog anyway

Having your own blog must be one of the easiest ways to reach an audience.  Yet for every aspiring writer who is already blogging, there are those who shudder at the thought. And I do empathise with these writers… blogging was new to me until

I’m an artist, do I need an agent?

Getting an agent can save you a lot of time and trouble, says guest blogger illustrator Clare Mackie. And if you’re an artist do let us at ‘Writers & Artists’ know what your view is on having an agent.

This one’s up to you – it’s not imperative to have an agent, but if you’re not business-minded or would rather not deal with that side at all, then it’s well worth it.

Illustrators’ agents take about

Is it 2010 already? It is for the Yearbook

I’m feeling deliciously light and cool despite it being muggy outside. And it’s not just because I’m sitting near the air con unit – it’s because the 2010 edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook  has gone to the printers bang on time!

So, the shiny red cover may be

Bloggers beware, you have no privacy

If you blog under the cloak of anonymity, today is something of a day of reckoning. You have no right to keep your identity a secret. Not even if you’re an

Who wants to be a ‘proper writer’?

John Simmons

Our guest blogger author John Simmons believes it’s wrong to draw a line between the ‘proper writer’ and other types of writer. What do you think, do you agree?

Are you a writer? I sometimes get exasperated by people – often people who describe themselves as writers – who insist on